Shattered Dolls
by roo17
Summary: Little one-shots based on different characters. Read at your own risk.
1. Chapter 1: Smile For The Camera

**First One-Shot**_  
Smile For The Camera_

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**_Warnings: _**_AU. L__ight mentions of child molestation and child pornography._

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It was cold, and he was scared.

_'Rain, Rain, go away.'_

Everything was gray. Bland, colorless, blank. Nothing caught his pleading eyes. And he didn't catch the eyes of the people around him. Happy people, _ignorant_ people. _Ignorance is bliss, ain't it?_

_'Rain, Rain, go away.'_

No matter what he did, no matter how hard he tried, nothing left his throat. No laugh, no cry, no plea, no scream, no _sound_. And no one paid any attention to him, the abandoned child lost on the street. The child who was frightened, the child who was just standing there in the rain with a blank look on his malnourished face.

_'Maybe come back another day.'_

He was shivering from the cold; or was it from the fear? Maybe from the hate? The anger? Possibly the pain? He didn't know. He felt _numb_. _That_ much he knew.

_'Rain, Rain, please don't go.'_

Thunder. Loud, rolling thunder echoed in his sensitive ears, and he would have flinched if he could move. The gray skies above, the ones that poured the icy rain down on him, lit up in flashes as lightning struck again and again just on the outskirts of town. _Flash! Flash! Just like the camera! _His shivering suddenly increased, and his teeth began to clatter against each other. He was _alone_. Always, always _alone_. No one to take care of him, no one telling him to be strong. No one to tell him to live life to the fullest, no one telling him how much he's loved. No one told him anything. _But that's normal, right? Because I don't deserve to live. I'm nothing but a worthless heap of trash. I'm nothing, nothing at all. Nothing but a regret. So I deserve this. I'm a worthless good-for-nothing, and I deserve this because I don't deserve to __**live**_. The lightning struck again. _Flash! Smile for the camera!_ He wanted to cover his ears, to push away that god awful voice. _I deserved it. I deserved every moment of it. Because I am nothing. I do **not** deserve to **live**._

_'You're the only friend I know.'_

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It was cold, and he was bored. That much he knew. What he didn't know, though, was the reason he came into town. He didn't need anything, nor did Thatch or Izou or Whitebeard or any of his other siblings, but he felt like there was something important in town. Something he was supposed to get. He didn't know. _Maybe if I wander around long enough, I'll remember. _He looked up at the dull, gray skies above and gave a small frown. _Today isn't exactly a day to be walking around town for no reason, though._ He then turned his attention down to his v-necked long-sleeved purple shirt that had begun to gather polka dots from the raindrops that landed on it. _I guess I should have brought an umbrella…_

Within seconds of leaving the building's overhanging roof, he was soaked. His hair drooped, his clothes stuck tightly to his body, and his shoes gushed with water every step he took. Yet, he didn't mind.

He loved the rain. He loved its cold caress, and its ability to wash away the dirty, grimy, _unhappy and haunting_ thoughts that tended to raid his mind every now and then. It had the power to cleanse him, and he loved that. Because he wasn't the cleanest person on the earth. No, he, the exemplary son of Whitebeard and one of the most powerful fighters in the city, if not country, had his own dark secrets.

Secrets he didn't let _anyone_ know about.

_'Rain, Rain, please don't go.'_

The sky lit up several times as lightning flashed over and over again outside the town. _Just like the camera. Flash! Flash! Flash! Smile for the camera!_ He shivered lightly, but not from the cold. _Don't think about it,_ he thought to himself, closing his eyes and releasing a deep breath. _Just don't think about it._ Several seconds passed. The rain ran down his face, gently caressing his cheek, and he felt himself relax. He continued down the street, shoving his hands in his pockets, and tried his best to remember why he came to town in the first place.

_'Rain, Rain, don't go away.'_  
_('Rain, Rain, go away.')_

Something made him stop dead in his tracks, the hairs on the back of his neck all standing up. He felt himself tense, and he resisted the urge to burst into those reassuring blue flames he controlled. He had only felt like this one other time before. _Last time this happened I __**saw **__it, the camera flash. And **He**__was behind the camera. __**He **__was there watching me_. He turned around, his nerves shot, and expected to see the all too familiar flash. Expected to see that god awful man standing there holding his camera and smiling at him. _Smile for the camera__! He_ would say. But he didn't see a flash, nor a camera, nor _Him _standing there in a dark alley watching him.

Instead, he saw a boy.

_'Please back another day.'_  
_('Maybe come back another day')_

When his eyes landed on the child, he knew right then and there why he had the instinct to come in to town, and what the boy before him had been through.

After all, Marco had experienced the same thing this little boy did twenty-five years ago.

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It was the most beautiful blue he had ever seen in his life. And it didn't belong to any sky or ocean or priceless gem. It belong to a man. It was the man's eyes. _Azure_ eyes. Just looking into them made him feel so safe, so secure. So alive. "Hey there." He found himself able to move suddenly, and he took a small step back. This man… this man _saw_ him. He wasn't like the others, the happy, ignorant people who passed him for the past three days. But that didn't mean he could trust the man. Especially after what he just went through. _Smile for the camera__!_ He felt himself tremble again and took another step back. "Hey, I'm not gonna hurt you," his voice was quiet, soft, so non-threatening. So _trusting_. "Can you walk?"

He barely shook his head, and the male in front of him nodded understandably. _But how can he understand? He hasn't gone through what I've been through. He couldn't have. He's too nice, too happy._ But as he looked into the azure eyes again, he could see a distant pain. A kind of pain that never truly leaves once it has been delivered. _He… He was once broken, too..._

"Do you want me to carry you?" And as soon as the question was asked, Ace threw himself at the stranger; wrapping his arms around the blond's neck tightly. Marco hugged the child back like he was someone he thought had been dead for the past five years, and picked him up. "Don't worry," he whispered in the child's ear. "As long as I'm around, He's never gonna hurt you again. I swear on my life."

With those words whispered into his ear, Ace broke down. He buried his face into Marco's shoulder and cried and cried and cried until he passed out from exhaustion. All the while, Marco continued to carry him, whispering gentle and comforting words to him as he rubbed his back; his grip never loosening in the least.

_'Rain, Rain, you're our kin  
You wash away all our sin  
Rain, Rain, won't you stay?  
You're welcome night or day  
Rain, Rain, please don't go  
You're the only friend we know'_

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**x - x - x**  
**A/N: Okay, guys. I got a few somewhat depressing one-shots I'm gonna upload. I've had a fucking shitty week and writing happy and funny things is sorta hard to do when you're kinda pissed and depressed. So until this shittyness goes away, I won't be able to write chapters for Sweeter Than Sugar, or Black Rose. Sorry, but if I try to work on those, everything will seemed forced and it'll turn out all sucky.**

**I wrote this about...ten months or so ago and never got around to uploading it. (I have so many things I've wrote (all mostly one-shots) that I just never uploaded.) Sooo, here ya go. I don't know if I should say 'enjoy' or not, seeing as it's all depressing.**

**For those of you who don't understand the 'smile for the camera' thing. It refers to child pornography. Ace was abducted, molested, and forced to make provocative poses while being photographed. When the Unsub was done or bored with Ace, he kicked him out and went on the prowl for another victim.**

TRIVIA: _**Earlier this week, I had the idea of making it where everyone is synchronized. Everyone walks down the street on one sidewalk, and everyone walks up on the other side. No one moves out of order, except for Marco. That's how he sees Ace and no one else does. I'm actually planning to write a chapter like that, if you guys are interested. It'll be different from this, of course. I was also tempted to do a second chapter for this, but ultimately decided not to.**_

**Have a great morning/afternoon/night!**

_Your ice elemental,  
~roo the psycho_


	2. Chapter 2: No Escape

**One-Shot Two**  
_No Escape_

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_**Warnings:** AU, ooc, mentions of abuse, suicide._

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He locked the door once he entered the bathroom, leaning against the wooden door as he gave a sad smile; his eyes cast to the whilte tiled bathroom floor. He took a moment to just stay like that, his mind empty of almost all thoughts. _'I guess I'm really gonna do it,'_ he thought. He wanted to laugh at himself, give a mirthless laugh at how pathetic he was. He slid down against the door until he was sitting on the cold floor and held his hands in his head. A small, humorless laugh left his lips and he felt tears start to prick at the corner of his eyes.

This was all so fucked up.

He managed to hold the tears back with some difficulty. He wondered why the urge to cry was so strong now, and why it was so hard to hold back the tears. He had, over the years, learned to control those salty little creatures with ease. But now... It was so hard to hold them back.

_"Are you crying **again?** Get over it. Fuckin' baby."_

_"Did you hear me? I said **s****top. crying. now.**"_

_"Oh, here come the tears again! Hey, little **shit.** What did I say about crying? Huh?! Want me to give ya a few more smacks?"_

A tear managed to escape from him and it fell from his long eyelashes. He watched with almost slight horror as the small little drop hit the bathroom floor, and he instinctively curled up; bringing his knees up closer to his chest and slapped his hands over his ears. _'He can't hurt me anymore he can't hurt my anymore he can't hurt me anymore,'_ he chanted in his mind, squeezing his eyes shut. After a minute of repeating the chant, he finally opened his eyes and uncurled himself. The urge to cry was still there, but it wasn't as strong as before. Another mirthless laugh left his lips as he looked down at his hands.

This was all so fucked up.

His hands were lightly trembling and he willed them to stop. Curling them into fists, he turned his attention to the off-white ceiling. _'What am I doing?'_ He thought about his question with lightly furrowed brows. _'Am I really going to go through with it?'_ _'I have to,'_ part of him answered. _'I have to. It's the only escape.'_ But...it didn't seem right. But at the same time, it seemed oh so perfect. _'What better way for a good-for-nothing like me to go?'_ He looked back to his hands.

_"You're never going to make it in the world. You're going to get chewed up, spit out, and shit on.."_

_"If you think you're so useful, then **why don't you get a fuckin' job?**"_

_"Get out of my sight, you pathetic good-for-nothing. I never should have adopted you."_

He pushed himself onto his feet and he took in a deep breath. Looking ahead, he found himself staring into the medicine cabinet's mirror. God, he looked horrible. His face was pale and the skin under his eyes was dark from the lack of proper sleep. He looked at his bare torso and all the old scars that littered it. He touched the one on his left ribs. It was the first serious scar he received from his foster-father. His hand slid up his torso and made its way to his right cheek. On his narrow cheek bone was a very light scar. You could barely see it, you had to know it was there when searching for it, but he could see it clearly. He could remember when he got it, how he got it, and how long it took before it fully healed. His eyes were suddenly drawn back to his stomach. He could clearly see his ribs. It was from his lack of eating, he picked up the habit not long after the abuse started. He never fully got his appetite back, despite it being nearly two years since his foster-father last laid a hand on him.

This was all _so fucked up_.

He opened the cabinet, no longer able to look at his gaunt and pathetic form, and let his eyes land on the small object he hid there a year ago. Reaching up and grabbing the piece of napkin gently, he unfolded the cloth carefully and his line of sight fell on the small, silver object in his hand.

Ace stared down at the scalpel with a longing that had been in his eyes for years.

He longed for death, longed for escape.

The thought of leaving Luffy broke his heart, but he knew his brother would be fine. He was eighteen now, so their foster-father couldn't lay a hand on him. Not only that, but his brother had made so many friends in the two years. He knew Luffy was in good hands. Zoro was probably the most protective of Luffy and the green-haired male hardly ever left Luffy's side. Next to him was Sanji and Robin, who swore to keep the teen safe with their lives. Usopp and Chopper were always there to cheer up the hyperactive teen. Nami was there to keep Luffy in line, keep him from doing idiotic things and getting into (too much) trouble. And Franky and Brook were there at his side to cheer him up with their jokes, music, and parties. Not to mention Marco and Thatch would probably check up on him regularly. Law was always there, too; ready to take care of Luffy whenever he was injured.

Yes, Luffy was in very good hands.

So it was okay to leave now, right?

He protected Luffy over the years. He took the beatings for him, took the pain and suffering for his little brother. That's why Luffy was like he was; a happy-go-lucky teen who never ever quit smiling. Ace was proud that he was the reason his brother could laugh so innocently. If given the choice, he'd do it all again. He'd go through hell and back to keep his brother smiling. Another sad smile worked its way onto his features as he picked up the scalpel and threw the napkin aside. The object was so shiny, so clean and perfect. The exact opposite of what Ace was. Ace wasn't shiny, he'd been dulled down to a blunt stump throughout the years. He wasn't straight, he was crippled and bent, and the only perfect thing about him was that he was perfectly _broken._

_"Sniveling! Pathetic! I ought to **wring your neck!**"_

_"Listen hear you little bastard, when I tell you to do something, you do it! No back-talking, no lazying around, no stalling! Now get your ass upstairs **now!**"_

_"You? Ha! Don't make me laugh! You'll never get anywhere in this world! And, oh, **how I'll enjoy watching you fall!**"_

No, it really was perfect that he would take the 'coward's way' out. He slid his finger along the edge of the blade and watch with morbid fascination as the skin under the scalpel split so smoothly. He let up the pressure on his skin and trailed the item down his palm, the steel tickling the epidermis with its soft touch. Then the tip came to the wrist, and he paused a moment. _'Luffy will be fine. He's in many good hands. Luffy will be fine. **He** can't lay a hand on my brother. **He** will be in prison for the rest of his miserable life when they find the letter I left on my bed. Yes, Luffy will absolutely fine.'_ A calm serenity overcame him, and he pulled the blade over the skin with quick precision. For a moment, there was nothing.

Then the precious rubies began to form.

Red flowed from his wrist almost like a silk ribbon, and it was again with morbid fascination that he couldn't seem to tear his gray eyes away. He loved blood, its color and power was absolutely eye-catching. He set the scalpel down on the sink and continued to watch his dark blood flow, his eyes catching every drop that fell. And with every drop, he felt as if a burden was being lifted from his shoulders, from his mind, from his soul. This was the end, this was _his end_. So quiet, so peaceful. His ears could only pick up the sound of the red droplets hitting the floor and the small puddle that formed on the tiles. The red stood out beautifully against the white tiles, he liked it.

_This is the way the world ends_

_Now with a bang..._

_but a whimper_

Dizzy. He was feeling light-headed. He sank to his knees before he had the chance to fall, his kneecaps slipping slightly in the red puddle beneath them. He then eased himself back until he was laying down facing the ceiling. He felt so tired, oh so _tired_. He didn't have the strength to hold his arm up to watch his blood flow, so he closed his eyes. He felt a soft smile pull onto his features, and a single tear managed to fall from his left eye. _'It's okay to cry now,'_ he thought. _'It's okay to cry. I'm free now. I'm free. It's okay to cry.'_

"Goodbye, Lu. Take care. I love you."

His quiet goodbye was heard by no one, but that didn't matter. As long as he got to say it, that was all that mattered. He could feel himself begin to slip, that the end of his roping was ending. He was at the edge, hanging on by a thread now...

_This ending, for a someone as pathetic as me, is absolutely..._

He laughed.

_...perfect._

And then he fell.

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**x - x - x**

**A/N: So I started writing this in April. (Or was it May? I think it was May.) And when I did, I was really not happy, as you can tell. It was probably the first time I was _actually_ depressed. I couldn't eat for two days, I didn't really smile. And the _thoughts_. Jeez. But don't worry! I'm okay now I think. XD Some of this I kinda based on myself in a few ways. (No I'm not being abused) But yeah, anyways, now that I've probably depressed you all, let me say have a happy day/night! :'D Sorry.**

_Your ice elemental,  
~roo the psycho_


End file.
